Next: Vacant Stare

Dib nodded slightly, and with much difficulty, tried to keep his eyes open.

Swirl...

Wince.

Swirl.

It was painful.

"Hey!!"

Swirl.

"Hey guess what Yolanda!" A voice called, not too far away from where she was sitting.

"What's it now?" She smiled, hearing the familiar tone of her friend, knowing she was going to hear some miraculous tale starring one of her patients, or a family miracle, something or another. She chuckled knowingly as her friend finally reached her table.

"You wouldn't believe it! That kid finally awoke from that coma. Man, I almost lost my spirits, but I prayed for that boy... and his family, they seemed torn to bits about it. His sister, a cute little thing, seemed to be holding something in, but I saw her tear up a little." She giggled despite herself.

She sighed. "I'm just glad he might have a chance."

Just then, Yolanda's dark green eyes lit up, widening in realization. "Wait a tic, what's his name? I remember you tellin' me about a kid who was in a coma, and.." She shot up from her seat, "We got up in the maternity ward, an alien...! Oh my, Betty, I tell ya, its the most extraordinary, amazing thing, and he mentioned that-!"

Betty took her friend's hand, and shook her head. "Quiet now, ya hear!" She whispered loudly. "Don't be makin' a fuss, we don't need anyone knowing about it..." She scolded. "Now sit down and keep your voice down please." The other guests and patients stopped staring and went back to their own business.

She blew a stray piece of hair from her eyes and looked at Betty expectantly.

Betty sighed at her friend's impatience. "His name is Dib Membrane."

Yolanda exhaled shortly. "My patient was talkin' about him earlier today, about their kid, and I think he thinks Dib is dead!"

"Dib was asking for .. what's his name... Zim?"

Yolanda almost spit out her coffee. "Yes!"

"That's your patient, I'm guessing. Well, we have quite a predicament here."

"What? Why?" Yolanda really wanted to see her patient reunited, especially if he thought Dib was dead, and he wasn't.

"I think I may know a little more of this situation that you do, Dib is in a very stressful state, just woke up, and I'm sure Zim is just as bad off, it wouldn't be good to just surprise them so suddenly without a second or third opinion. Not to mention their doctors, Yolanda, we're just nurses. Its not our place."

"Yeah, I agree, its just that... he is a very strange patient, and I don't mean cause of that... but its just, he really frightens me sometimes. So I see what you mean."

"Tell me more." Betty was oddly interested in 'strange' cases. She was thinking. Yolanda didn't know if she liked the look Betty got in her eyes when she was plotting, so to speak.

"Well he has seemed to be blocking a very traumatic event, from what his psychiatrist said, and sometimes he relapses. He can get very hysterical, disillusioned in his thinking. Sometimes he thinks we are from this thing called, Swollen Eyeball, or whatever, and we're gonna slice him open, for Christ's sakes! I have to admit, I do protect him, I am fond of him. He seems fond of me too, he talks to me all the time."

She stopped for a moment to take a swig of her coffee. "Well, he hasn't talked of Dib since today, so I guess he is slowly coming to terms with whatever happened. One night, I was checking on him, and well, I know he doesn't sleep, but he seemed to be in a trance. He kept muttering, sobbing, saying something like, 'I never. Never, never, never..' over and over. It kills me, Betty, it really does."

Betty nodded and took hold of her friend's hand. "I got something to tell ya. Maybe you will understand. I'm surprised no one told ya of this situation before. It would've helped you a great deal, I suppose."

Yolanda looked down, almost scared to hear it.

SWIRL.

"I'm sorry... I really am, we did all we could."

"...What?"

"She's... dead."

(Splash. Splattered. Screams.)

A vacant stare.

Screams.

Once Betty retold most of of what she knew, Yolanda seemed to understand.

"The thing is I really want these two to see each other. How about we ask around and see if we can rearrange something? Maybe in a few days, maybe a week, or something?"

Betty sighed again. "Alright. But don't let Zim know until we know for sure."

"Fine with me, girl."